The year was 1992 and Duke was heavily favored to win its second straight national championship. On the way to fulfilling its destiny, coach Mike Krzyzewski’s team had to survive an intense region final challenge from a Kentucky team coached by young Rick Pitino.

Twenty-one years after that famous game – won on Christian Laettner’s famous buzzer-beating 3-pointer – Krzyzewski and Pitino are back in the Elite Eight against one another.

This time Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals are the favorite. But the Blue Devils won the regular season meeting between the teams and are in position to give Krzyzewski his 12th Final Four – tying UCLA’s John Wooden for the most of all time.

Before the hostilities begin and the final ticket to Atlanta is punched, here are five things to watch and consider:

1. How much will the short turnaround from Friday’s late semifinal affect Duke?

Duke looked understandably tired during Saturday's interview session

The Blue Devils didn’t leave Lucas Oil Stadium after beating Michigan State until nearly 1 a.m. Saturday morning. They probably didn’t get to bed until at least three, if then, and had to be back at the arena for interviews and practice less than 10 hours later. While the college-age players will probably be able to bounce back better and faster than the adults who coach them, fatigue can’t help but be a factor by the time Duke plays Louisville at 5:05 this afternoon – especially since the Cardinals got their regional semifinal work done much earlier in the evening Friday. That’s why getting off to a good start is a key for the Blue Devils. It takes much more energy to play from behind than ahead. It also figures that Krzyzewski will likely use his bench – specifically Josh Hairston and Amile Jefferson – more liberally than he did in the previous game.

2. How much of a difference will Louisville’s Gorgui Dieng have on the matchup?

Gorgui Dieng missed the regular season meeting between Duke and Louisville

Dieng is a 6-foot-11, 245-pound center who missed the regular season meeting with the Blue Devils because of a broken wrist. Although Dieng’s stats don’t jump off the page and make you go wow, his 10 points and nine rebounds per game also can’t be dismissed. Neither can his affect as a shot blocker. Although Pitino downplayed the importance of Dieng’s addition because of the way his replacements Zach Price and Stephan Van Treese played in Louisville’s 76-71 loss to Duke on Nov. 24, he’s one more headache for which the Blue Devils in general and senior center Mason Plumlee in particular will have to prepare.

3. Will Ryan Kelly ever hit another 3-pointer?

Ryan Kelly has missed 18 straight 3-point attempts

Kelly went 0 for 4 from beyond the arc in Friday’s region semifinal win against Michigan State. Going all the way back to the second half of Duke’s Senior Night game against Virginia Tech on March 5, a span of 5½ games, the struggling senior forward has missed 18 straight 3-point attempts. What makes the slump all the more mystifying is earlier in his career, Kelly once made 18 straight field goal attempts – including seven 3-pointers. To his credit, Kelly hasn’t let his shooting woes affect other parts of his game. He did a good job of putting the ball on the floor and going to the basket while scoring nine points Friday. He also corralled seven rebounds and blocked four shots while playing outstanding post defense. As important as those contributions are, he’s going to have to start making some shots and pick up his scoring for Duke to have a shot at beating a high-powered opponent the likes of Louisville.

4. Can Quinn Cook bounce back from his subpar performance in Friday’s win against Michigan State?

Quinn Cook went 0 for 5 with three turnovers in 21 minutes Friday

The sophomore point guard has been an integral part of Duke’s success this season, averaging 11.7 ppg and ranking second in the ACC in assists. Friday, however, he struggled so badly that he was benched in favor of backup Tyler Thornton for the final 9:18. His 21 minutes overall were his second fewest in a game this season. The Blue Devils need a strong bounce back game from Cook to have a chance at combating the Cardinals’ dynamic backcourt duo of Russ Smith and Peyton Siva. The good news for Duke is that Cook has a positive experience against Louisville on which to help boost his sagging confidence. Back in November, Cook put the Blue Devils on his shoulders by scoring 11 of his 15 points in the final 7½ minutes to lead them to a 76-71 victory against Louisville and earn MVP honors at the Battle For Atlantis tournament. A similar performance today would go a long way toward helping Duke toward another championship – this one, a lot more important than one decided in a hotel ballroom in the Bahamas.

5. How will Seth Curry’s painful legs hold up?

Seth Curry has had trouble putting two good games back-to-back within a 48-hour stretch

Curry has done a remarkable job this season of managing the pain from the mysterious leg injury that has been bothering him since the mid-October. He’s Duke’s leading scorer at 17.6 ppg and is coming off a 29-point masterpiece in Friday’s region semifinal win against Michigan State. But give his history in the second half of back-to-back games, there’s reason to question how effective he’ll be this afternoon against Louisville. In the five instances this season in which the Blue Devils played games within 48 hours of one another, Curry is averaging 21.0 ppg and is shooting 54.5 percent from 3-point range (12 of 22) in the first game of the turnaround, In the second games, however, his numbers have slipped to 12.2 ppg and 20 percent (6 of 30). The senior guard said Saturday that his legs are starting to feel better and that he’s confident he’ll be at his best today. Only time will tell.

That’s all for today. Enjoy the game!

And don’t forget to follow my live updates from today’s Duke-Louisville Midwest Region final from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, starting at 5:05 p.m. on Twitter @starnewsacc.